Push pole for a boat

ABSTRACT

A push pole for manually propelling boats, including a shaft and a foot. In a preferred embodiment, the foot is flared at the bottom end in an inverted V-shape, and a pivoting pin is located along one side of the foot, and pivots outwardly from the foot so that it may be used to retrieve lures or as a docking hook. When the pin is not in use, it may pivot back into a receiving cavity within the side of the foot, forming a streamlined edge thereof. In one embodiment, the pivoting mechanism of the pin may include a spring to bias the pin in an outward direction, as well as means for locking the pin into the inward streamlined position when not in use. The pivoting pin may be locked into either the extended or retracted position. Further, the foot may be detachable from the shaft in any desired manner, and replaced by a net, paddle, gig, scrub brush, gaff, docking hook or spike that attaches in the same manner as the foot. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, the push pole is buoyant in water, and includes a telescoping shaft that may be extended or retracted. A detachable hook is also disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/005,886, filed on Dec. 28, 2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to push poles for manually propelling aboat, and more specifically to a push pole having interchangeable parts,including a foot including a pivoting pin or lever that may be foldedoutwardly for retrieving a lure or for use as a docking hook, and otherattachable accessories which may adapt the pole to be used as a gaff,net, docking hook, scrub brush, paddle, gig, spike or other accessories.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many different boats are used in shallow waterways, such as streams,creeks, swamps and flats. Oftentimes, boat owners using such boats wishto move the boat without causing a disturbance around the boat whichcould disrupt marine life nearby. Push poles may be used for suchpurposes. Most push poles available today include a long shaft and afoot (typically called a duck foot) that is flared at the bottom end inan inverted V-shape so that the push pole will not become stuck orlodged in the mud.

Many such push poles are expensive, and have one sole, primaryuse—propelling the boat by manually using the push pole to push againstthe bottom of the waterway. However, it would be useful to provide afloating push pole that included interchangeable parts, where the footcould be removed from the shaft, and replaced by a net, docking hook,scrub brush, gaff, paddle, gig, spike or other accessories. Further, itwould be desirable to provide a push pole having a foot that includes apivoting pin that may be folded outwardly for retrieving a lure, duckdecoy or other equipment from the water, or for use as a docking hook,and that may be folded inwardly to a position within the foot when notin use. Additionally, another optional feature of the push pole is thatthe shaft may be formed into a telescoping relation so that it may beextended or retracted, as desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a push pole formanually propelling boats, including a shaft and a foot. In a preferredembodiment, the foot is flared at the bottom end in an inverted V-shape,and a pivoting pin is located along a portion or side of the foot, andpivots outwardly from the foot so that it may be used to retrieve lures,duck decoys, or other equipment or items from the water, or used as adocking hook. When the pin is not in use, it may pivot back into areceiving cavity within the side of the foot, forming a streamlined edgethereof. In one embodiment, the pivoting mechanism of the pin mayinclude a spring to bias the pin in an outward direction, as well asmeans for locking the pin into the inward streamlined position when notin use. The pivoting pin may be locked into either the extended orretracted position. Further, the foot may be detachable from the shaftin any desired manner, and replaced by a net, paddle, gig, gaff, scrubbrush, docking hook, spike or other attachments that attach in the samemanner as the foot. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, the pushpole is buoyant in water, and includes a telescoping shaft that may beextended or retracted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the push pole including a telescopingshaft and a removable V-shaped foot with a pivoting pin shown in theextended position;

FIGS. 2 A-H are perspective views of the accessories that may beattached to the shaft, including a foot member (FIG. 2A), a spike (FIG.2B), a push broom (FIG. 2C), a paddle (FIG. 2D), a boat hook (FIG. 2E),a gaff (FIG. 2F), a gig (FIG. 2G), and a net (FIG. 2H);

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a removable V-shaped foot, showing thepivoting pin in the extended position, and showing the cavity formed inthe side of the foot for receiving the pivoting pin when it is disposedin a retracted position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a hook attachment that may be attachedto the shaft of a push pole for use as a docking hook, lure retriever,decoy retriever or the like; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a hook attachment that is attached toone side of a V-shaped foot for use as a docking hook, lure retriever,decoy retriever or the like.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the proposed push pole having atelescoping tubular shaft 10 and a detachable foot member 12 having aV-shape and a pivoting pin 14 along one side of the foot. The pivotingpin 14 may be in the extended position, where the pin extends away fromthe foot 12 so that it may be used to retrieve lures or used as adocking hook. When not in use, the pivoting pin 14 may be placed into aretracted position within a cavity 28 in the foot forming a streamlinededge thereof. In one embodiment, the pivoting mechanism of the pin mayinclude a spring to bias the pin in an outward or extended direction, aswell as means for locking the pin into the inward or retracted positionwhen not in use. In a preferred embodiment, the foot member is made fromurethane or a urethane product in an injection molding process. Oneadvantage to using urethane products for the manufacture of the foot isthat sound does not resonate as loudly through urethane products as itdoes with other materials, which is a desirable feature for push polesfor boats.

The shaft 10 may be formed to extend or retract telescopically inmeasured increments (for instance by using a spring loaded pin on onetelescoping portion that engages spaced holes on the other telescopingportion), or it may be infinitely adjustable (by using a twist-lockingand unlocking mechanism or a locking release 20 as shown in FIG. 1, forexample). The shaft includes a first end 16, which may include a handleportion and/or a spike member, and a second end 18 to which may beattached the foot or any of the other accessories mentioned herein.Alternatively, the shaft need not be telescoping.

The foot 12 may be detachable, as shown in FIG. 3, so that it may bereplaced with other accessories, such as a net, paddle, gaff, gig, pushbroom, docking hook or spike, as shown in FIGS. 2A-H. The foot 12 andthe other attachments may be removably attached using any suitablemeans, such as a threaded portion that screws into the shaft, or alocking pin mechanism, by way of illustration. In one embodiment, theshaft of the push pole is buoyant, so that if the push pole is droppedinto the water, it will float so that an operator may easily retrieveit. The components of the push pole may be made from any suitablematerial, including wood, plastic, metal, fiberglass, urethane or rubbersubstances, as well as a coating of polyurethane or similar substancemay be applied to any wood components for protection against water,pests, mold and rot. In an alternate embodiment, the spike may be placedon a first end 16, while the attachment mechanism for receiving theaccessories of FIGS. 2A-H may be disposed on a second end 18 of theshaft member (as shown in FIG. 1).

This arrangement allows a user to have a single tool that may be adaptedto many uses, and reduces the amount of equipment that must be carriedand stored in a boat. When the foot is attached, the push pole may beused to manually propel the boat, and the pivoting pin may be extendedin order to retrieve a lure, equipment that may have fallen overboard,or used as a docking hook in order to pull the boat up to a dock oranother boat. By removing the foot, the user may attach a net fornetting fish, a gig for gigging fish or frogs, a spike for inserting thepole into the ground, creek bed or bottom of a waterway, a paddle forpropulsion in deeper water, a scrub brush, a gaff for retrieving fish ora docking hook attachment.

In another embodiment of the proposed invention, a detachable hook 22 isprovided, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The detachable hook includesattachment means 24 and a hook member 26. The attachment means mayinclude a flexible collar that snaps around the shaft member above thefoot (FIG. 4) or onto the foot itself (FIG. 5), and preferably includesa gripping surface, such as rubber, that frictionally engages a shaft,pole or foot upon attachment. When the detachable hook is attached tothe shaft of the push pole or foot, it may be used similarly to thepivoting pin in the above-referenced embodiment for retrieving lures,decoys, equipment and the like, and as a docking hook for hooking onto adock to pull the boat alongside.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detailwith reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions arepossible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims shouldnot be limited to the description of the preferred versions containedherein. All features disclosed in this specification may be replaced byalternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose,unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly statedotherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a genericseries of equivalent or similar features.

1. A detachable foot for a boat propelling push pole, said detachablefoot comprising: a main body member formed into a generally inverseV-shape, and including a pivoting pin positioned on a portion of saidfoot that may pivot between an extended outward position and an inwardposition within a cavity defined in said foot; and attachment means forremovably securing said foot to an elongated shaft or pole.
 2. Thedetachable foot set forth in claim 1, further including an elongatedshaft or pole removably attached thereto.
 3. The detachable foot setforth in claim 2, wherein said detachable foot and elongated shaft orpole are buoyant in water.
 4. The detachable foot set forth in claim 2,wherein said elongated shaft or pole includes a handle portion on an endopposed to said detachable foot.